Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he is satisfied regarding the adequacy of ambulance service cover in all regions throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41176/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The HSE National Ambulance Service (NAS) provides pre-hospital emergency care and emergency and some non-emergency patient transport. The Service has undergone significant change and modernisation, in order to ensure quality, safety and value for money.

Before the NAS was established, each health board had its own ambulance service. There was little co-ordination of activities across board boundaries and no clear national leadership on pre-hospital care. Supported by my Department, the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council and HIQA, the NAS is providing national management and integration of ambulance services.

In particular, the following are being addressed: ongoing reduction to two ambulance control centres nationally; appointment of a medical director for the NAS; introduction of advanced paramedics who can provide more complex life-saving care on-site care; modernisation of communications and control infrastructure; and development and implementation of new performance indicators for pre-hospital care.

In addition, and in line with the Croke Park Agreement, the Labour Court issued a binding recommendation, directing the National Ambulance Service (NAS) and the unions with negotiation rights for paramedic staff to address a number of overtime inefficiencies in rostering arrangements. Up to recently, a number of ambulance stations had worked in isolation from each other, with built in overtime for staff resulting in duplication of service. The amount of overtime involved was 24 hours per station per week.

The National Ambulance Service and recognised unions have concluded discussions on roster changes at approximately 30 ambulance stations around the country, to eliminate such arrangements and improve operational efficiencies. New rostering arrangements have begun in a large number of stations. Following discussions with staff and based on activity and demand levels, a number of stations have additional cover under the new arrangements.

Where necessary, emergency cover is supported by advanced paramedics in rapid response vehicles and by resources dynamically deployed from adjacent stations on a rolling basis. The NAS has also introduced a new Intermediate Care Service to address routine inter-hospital transfers and to release emergency ambulances for emergency service work. The net effect of these changes is improved efficiency and increased resource availability across the area.

The NAS is a dynamic service. It responds to calls on a prioritised basis, through the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System (AMPDS), which is in operation in all NAS Command and Control Centres. The NAS has established that 10% of all 999 calls are inappropriate for an emergency ambulance and a further 50% are neither life threatening or serious. This data is in line with international experience.